Traveling east to west, the landscape of Texas gradually evolves from that of the Deep South into that of the desert Southwest, going from piney woods to semi-forests of oak and cross timbers, into rolling plains and prairie, then finally to desert in the Big Bend. These wide open spaces of the Texas prairie have lent currency to the phrase that "everything is bigger in Texas". Due to its long history as a center of the American cattle industry, Texas is associated throughout much of the world with the image of the cowboy.

Due to the perceived French encroachment, Spain established its first presence in Texas in 1691 constructing of missions in East Texas. The missions failed quickly, and Spain did not resettle Texas until two decades had passed. Spain returned to East Texas in 1716, establishing missions and a presidio to maintain a buffer between New Spain and the territory of Louisiana. Two years later, the first European civilian settlement in Texas, San Antonio, was established.

Hostile native tribes and remoteness from New Spain discouraged settlers from moving to Texas and it remained one of New Spain's least populated provinces. San Antonio was a target for raids by the Lipan Apache. In 1749, the Spanish signed a peace treaty with the Apache, which resulted in raids by the enemies of the Apache, the Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai tribes. The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785 and later assisted in defeating the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes. An increased number of missions in the province allowed for a peaceful conversion of other tribes, and by the end of the 1700s only a few nomadic tribes had not been "Christianized".

Republic

The Convention of 1832 and the Convention of 1833 were responses to rising unrest at policies of the Mexican government. Delegates feared the end of duty-free imports from the United States and the threat of ending slavery. In 1835, Antonio López de Santa Anna, President of Mexico, created a unified constitution for Mexico which created a centralized government with power concentrated in the President, and turned states into provinces with governors appointed from Mexico City. States around Mexico rebelled against this imposition, including Chihuahua, Zacatecas and Yucatan. Of note was the Centralista forces' brutal suppression of dissidents in Zacatecas. Texans also resented policies such as the forcible disarmament of settlers, and the expulsion of immigrants and legal landowners originally from the United States.

Most Texans wanted their Republic to be annexed into the United States. Events such as the Dawson Massacre and two recaptures of Béxar in Texas of 1842 added momentum to the desire for statehood. However, strong abolitionist opposition to adding a slave state blocked Texas's admission until pro-annexation James K. Polk won the election of 1844. On December 29, 1845, Texas was admitted to the U.S. as a constituent state of the Union. The Mexican–American War followed, with decisive victories by the U.S. Texas's boundaries were set at their present form after the Compromise of 1850. Land which later became half of present day New Mexico, a third of Colorado, and small portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, was ceded for the federal government's assumption of $10 million of the old republic's debt. Post-war Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the cotton lands of the state.

Civil War and Reconstruction

The state was accepted as a charter member of the Confederate States of America on March 1, 1861. During the American Civil War, Texas was a "supply state" for the Confederate forces due to its distance from the front lines, contributing men, especially cavalry. Texan regiments fought in every major battle throughout the war. In mid-1863 the Union capture of the Mississippi River cut Texas supply lines to the eastern parts of the Confederacy. The last battle of the Civil War was fought in Texas at Palmito Ranch on May 13, 1865.

Texas descended into anarchy two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by Union General Gordon Granger. Violence also marked the early months of Reconstruction. Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865 in Galveston by General Gordon Granger, over 2-1/2 years after the original announcement. President Johnson, on August 20, 1866, declared that civilian government had been restored to Texas. Despite not meeting reconstruction requirements, on March 30, 1870 Congress readmitted Texas into the Union. Social volatility continued as the state struggled with agricultural depression and labor issues.

Modern era

The first major oil well in Texas was Spindletop, south of Beaumont, on January 10, 1901. Other fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, West Texas, and under the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting “Oil Boom” permanently transformed the economy of Texas. Oil production eventually averaged three million barrels of oil per day at its peak in 1972.

The economy, significantly improved since the civil war, was dealt a double blow by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Migrants abandoned the worst hit sections of Texas during the Dust Bowl years. Especially from this period on, blacks left Texas in the Great Migration to get work in the Northern United States or California and to escape the oppression of segregation. With increased immigration from other sources, although the numbers of African Americans increased, their proportion of population decreased from 20.4 percent in 1900 to 12.4 percent in 1960.

From 1950 through the 1960s, Texas modernized and expanded its system of higher education. Under the leadership of Governor John B. Connally, the state created a long-range plan for higher education, a different distribution of resources, and a central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more efficiently. These changes helped Texas universities receive federal research funds during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Because of its size and unique history, the regional affiliation of Texas is debatable. Depending on the source, it can be fairly considered either or both a Southern or Southwestern state. The vast geographic, economic, and cultural diversity within the state itself prohibits easy categorization of the whole state into a recognized region of the United States. The East, Central, and North Texas, regions have a stronger association with the American South than with the Southwest. Others, such as far West Texas and South Texas share more similarities with the latter. The upper Texas Panhandle is similar to the Midwestern United States and the South Plains parts of West Texas, is a blend of South and Southwest.

The late Paleozoic mountains collapsed as rifting in the Jurassic era began to open the Gulf of Mexico. Pangea began to break up in the Triassic but seafloor spreading to form the Gulf of Mexico occurred only in the mid and late Jurassic. The shoreline shifted again to the eastern margin of the state and the Gulf of Mexico passive margin began to form. Today there are to of sediments buried beneath the Texas continental shelf and a large proportion of remaining US oil reserves are to be found here. At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely to form thick evaporite deposits of Jurassic age. These salt deposits formed what are known as salt domediapirs, and can be found in East Texas, along the Gulf coast.

East Texas outcrops consist of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments with contain important deposits of Eocenelignite. Oil is found in the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian sediments in the north, Permian sediments in the west, Cretaceous sediments in the east, and along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas continental shelf. Oligocenevolcanic rocks are found in far west Texas, in the Big Bend area. A blanket of Miocene sediments known as the Ogallala formation in the western high plains region is an important aquifer. Texas has no volcanoes and few earthquakes, being situated far from an active plate tectonic boundary.

Climate

The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of multiple climate zones gives the state very variable weather. Climatologists divide Texas into three main zones: the humid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa) of the eastern half of Texas, the temperate semi-arid (Köppen BSk) steppe climate of the northwestern part, including the Panhandle, and the subtropical steppe climate (nearly an arid desert climate, Köppen BSh) of the southern parts of West Texas, particularly around El Paso.

The Panhandle of the state is colder in winter than North Texas, while the Gulf Coast has mild winters. Texas has wide variations in precipitation patterns. El Paso, on the western end of the state, averages as little as of annual rainfall while Houston, on the southeast Texas averages as much as per year. Dallas in the North Central region averages a more moderate per year. Snowfall often falls in the winter months in the north. Maximum temperatures in the summer months average from the 80s °F (26 °C) in the mountains of West Texas and on Galveston Island to around in the Rio Grande Valley. Night time summer temperatures range from the upper 50s °F (14 °C) in the West Texas mountains to in Galveston.

Thunderstorms are very common in Texas, especially the eastern and northern portion of the state. Texas is part of the Tornado Alley section of the country. The state experiences the most tornadoes in the Union, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle. Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in the months of April, May, and June.

Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the US. The state's annual carbon dioxide emissions are nearly 1.5 trillion pounds (680 billion kg). Texas would be the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases if it were an independent nation. The primary factors in Texas's greenhouse gas emissions is the state's large number of coal power plants and the state's refining and manufacturing industries which provides the bulk of the United States's petroleum products.

Demographics

As of 2006, the state has an estimated population of 23,507,783, an increase of 2.5% from the prior year and 12.7% since the year 2000. The natural increase since the last census was 1,389,275 people, immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 801,576 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 451,910 people. As of 2004, the state had 3.5 million foreign-born residents (15.6 percent of the state population), of which an estimated 1.2 million are illegal immigrants. More than one-third of the foreign-born population in Texas and 5.4 percent of the total state population comes from unauthorized immigration. Texas from 2000–2006 had the fastest growing illegal immigration rate in the nation. Texas also is one of the receiving states of black college graduates in the New Great Migration - the return of African Americans to the South.

Racial group and ethnic origins

As of the 2006 US Census estimates, the racial and ethnic distribution in Texas are as follows:

Much of the population of east, central, and north Texas have a whiteProtestant heritage, primarily descended from ancestors from Great Britain and Ireland. Much of central and southeast-central Texas is inhabited by German descendants. African Americans, who historically made up one-third of the state population during the 19th century, are concentrated in the parts of East Texas where the cotton plantation culture was most prominent before the American Civil War, as well as in Dallas and Houston. Because of a strong labor market, from 1995–2000, Texas is one of three states in the South that are receiving the high numbers of black college graduates in a New Great Migration. Recently, the Asian population in Texas has grown—primarily in Houston and Dallas.

Over one-third of Texas residents are of Hispanic origin; many are recently arrived, while some Tejanos have ancestors with multigenerational ties to the 18th century in Texas. Hispanics dominate south, south-central, and west Texas, and are a significant proportion of residents in the San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas metropolitan areas. Immigrants, primarily from far southern Mexico and Central America, contribute heavily to the state's growth. The influx of immigration is partially responsible for the state's having a relatively young population compared to the rest of the United States.

Cities and towns

As of 2000, six incorporated places in Texas had populations greater than 500,000, of which two are global cities: Houston and Dallas. Texas has a total of 25 metropolitan areas, with four having populations over 1 million and two over 5 million. Texas has three cities with populations exceeding 1 million: Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. This is the most cities of this size within one state. These three are also among the 10 largest cities of the United States. Austin, Fort Worth, and El Paso are also among the top 25 largest U.S. cities. The Texas Urban Triangle is a region defined by three interstate highwaysI-35 to the west (Dallas-Fort Worth to San Antonio), I-45 to the east (Dallas to Houston), and I-10 to the south (San Antonio to Houston). The region contains most of the state's largest cities and metropolitan areas, as well as nearly 75 percent of Texas's total population.

Colonias

Colonias are rural, unincorporated settlements which often lack basic infrastructure and which are marked by poverty. As of 2007, Texas has the largest concentration of people, approximately 400,000, living in colonias in the U.S. There are at least 2300 Texas colonias, located primarily along the state's border with Mexico.

The bicameralTexas Legislature consists of the House of Representatives, with 150 members, and a Senate, with 31 members. The Speaker of the House leads the House, and the Lieutenant Governor leads the Senate. The Legislature meets in regular session biennially, but the Governor can call for special sessions as often as desired. The state's fiscal year is from the previous calendar year's September 1 through the current year August 31. Thus, FY 2008 is from September 1, 2007 through August 31, 2008.

Judicial system

The judicial system of Texas is one of the most complex in the United States, with many layers and overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, for civil cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except for some municipal benches, partisan elections select judges at all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies by appointment.

Texas leads the nation in executions, 400, from 1982 to 2007. Only capital murder is eligible for the death penalty.

The Texas political atmosphere leans towards fiscal and social conservatism. Since 1980, most of Texas voters have supported Republican Presidential candidates. In 2000 and 2004, Republican George W. Bush won Texas with 60.1% of the vote. He was a "favorite son" as a recent Governor of the state. Austin consistently leans Democratic in both local and statewide elections. Houston is among the few urban areas that consistently vote Republican, but its metropolitan areas are very divided politically. Dallas remains approximately split. Counties along the Rio Grande often vote Democratic.

Administrative divisions

Texas has 32 congressional districts, the second-most after California. There are 254 counties—the most nationwide. Each county is run by a Commissioners' Court consisting of four elected commissioners and a county judge. County government is similar to a "weak" mayor-council system; the county judge has no veto authority, but votes along with the other commissioners. County elections are partisan.

Texas does not allow consolidated city-county governments, nor does it have metropolitan governments. Cities and counties are permitted to enter "interlocal agreements" to share services. Further, counties are not granted home rule status; their powers are strictly defined by state law. The state does not have townships— areas within a county are either incorporated or unincorporated. Incorporated areas are part of a municipality. The county provides limited services to unincorporated areas. Municipalities are classified as either "general law" or "home rule". A municipality may elect home rule status once it exceeds 5,000 population with voter approval. Municipal elections in Texas are nonpartisan.

Economy

Texas's large population, its abundance of natural resources, and diverse population and geography has led the state to have a large and highly diverse economy. Since the discovery of oil, the state's economy reflected the state of the petroleum industry. In recent times, urban centers of the state have diversified employing two-thirds of the population in 2005. Growth in the state's economy has led to problems associated with urban sprawl.

In 2004, the Site Selection magazine ranked Texas as the most business friendly state in the nation. A big reason for this ranking is the state's three billion dollar, Texas Enterprise Fund. Texas's growth can be attributed to the availability of jobs, the low cost of housing, the lack of a personal state income tax, high quality of education, low taxation and limited regulation of business, a central geographic location, a limited government, favorable weather, and abundant natural resources.

Agriculture and mining

Texas is a productive agricultural state with the most farms both in number and acreage in the United States. Texas leads the nation livestock production. Cattle the state's most valuable agricultural product, but the state also leads nationally in production of sheep and goat products. Texas is king of cotton leading the nation in cotton production, its leading crop and second-most-valuable farm product. The state also is a large producer of cereal crops and produce. Texas also has a large commercial fishing industry. With mineral resources, Texas leads in creating cement, crushed stone, lime, salt, sand and gravel.

In 2006, for the fifth year in a row, Texas led the nation in export revenues. Texas exports for 2006 totaled $150.8 billion, which is $22.1 billion more than 2005 and represents a 17.2 percent increase. A large contributor to this trend is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The state's largest trading partner is Mexico, which accounts for a third the state's exports. NAFTA has led to the formation of controversial maquiladoras on the Texas/Mexico border.

Texas's central location within the North American continent has made it an important transportation hub. From the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 93 percent of the nation's population can be reached by truck within 48 hours, and 37 percent within 24. The state is also in the center of the continent's four major economic centers: New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Toronto. Texas has the most foreign trade zones (FTZ), in the nation, 33. In 2004 a combined total of $298 billion of goods passed though Texas FTZ's.

Transportation

Transportation in Texas has been difficult historically because of the state's large size and rough terrain. Texas has compensated by building both the America's largest highway and railway systems in terms of mileage as well as the largest number of airports in the nation. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state's regulatory authority, whose stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods." Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with maintenance of the state's immense highway system, the agency is also responsible for aviation. in the state and overseeing public transportation systems

Highways

Texas freeways have been heavily traveled since the 1948 opening of the Gulf Freeway in Houston. As of 2005, there were of public highway in Texas (up from in 1984). Tollways are common in Texas primarily due to lack of funds from traditional revenue sources. There are approximately 17 current toll roads in the state with additional roads proposed. In the western part of the state, both I-10 and I-20 have a speed limit of , the highest in the nation.

Airports

Texas has the most airports of any state in the nation. Largest of these is Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the second largest in the United States, and fourth largest in the world. In traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, fourth busiest in the United States, and sixth busiest in the world. The airport serves 135 domestic destinations and 40 international. DFW is the largest and main hub of the AMR CorporationsAmerican / American Eagle, the world's largest airline in total passengers-miles transported and passenger fleet size.

Texas's second-largest air facility is Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Houston is the headquarters of Continental Airlines and is the airline's largest hub. IAH offers service to the most Mexican destinations of any U.S. airport. IAH ranks third among U.S. airports with scheduled non-stop domestic and international service.

Ports

Over 1,000 seaports dot Texas's coast with over of channels. Ports employ nearly one-million people and handle an average of 317 million metric tons. Texas ports are connected with the rest of the US Atlantic seaboard in the Gulf section of the Intracoastal Waterway. Until the deadliest hurricane in US history of 1900, the state's primary port was Galveston.

With completion of the Houston Ship Channel in 1919, the Port of Houston replaced Galveston and today is the busiest port in the United States in foreign tonnage, second in overall tonnage, and tenth worldwide in tonnage. The Houston Ship Channel is currently wide by deep by long.

Railroads

Part of the state's cowboy legends are based on cattle drives where livestock was herded from Texas to railroads in Kansas. The first railroad in Texas completed in 1872, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, diminished the need for these drives. The desire for the benefits of railroads was so strong that Dallasites paid $5,000 for the Houston and Central Texas Railroad to shift its route through its location, rather than Corsicana as planned. Since 1911, Texas has led the nation in railroad length. Construction of railroads created a radial system of major cities, unlike states in which river transportation most influenced the cities. Texas railway mileage peaked in 1932 at , but declned to by 2000. The state's oldest regulatory agency, the Railroad Commission of Texas, originally regulated the railroads, but in 2005, the state transferred to these duties to TxDOT.

Intercity passenger rail service in Texas is limited in terms of both network and frequency. Just three scheduled Amtrak routes serve the state: the daily Texas Eagle ; the tri-weekly Sunset Limited , with stops in Texas; and the daily Heartland Flyer .

Culture

Texas historically has had a culture that has been a blend of Southwestern (Mexican), Southern (Dixie), and Western (frontier) influences. A popular food item drawing from all three is the breakfast taco, made with a soft flour tortilla wrapped around bacon and scrambled eggs or other hot, cooked fillings. Adding to Texas's traditional culture, established in the 18th and 19th centuries, later immigration has made Texas a melting pot of cultures from around the world.

The Deep Ellum district within Dallas became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as the prime jazz and blues hotspot in the Southern United States. The name Deep Ellum is derived from local people pronouncing "Deep Elm" as "Deep Ellum". Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, and Bessie Smith played in early Deep Ellum clubs. Today, the district is home to hundreds of artists who live in lofts and operate in studios throughout the district alongside bars, pubs, and concert venues. One major art infusion has resulted from the city's lax stance on graffiti: several public ways, including tunnels, sides of buildings, sidewalks, and streets, are covered in graffiti murals.

Over the past couple of decades, San Antonio has evolved into the "Nashville of Tejano music." The Tejano Music Awards have provided a forum to create greater awareness and appreciation for Tejano music and culture.

Texas is an American Football recruiting hotbed for college teams nationwide. In 2006, 170 players in the NFL were from Texas high schools. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) organizes most primary and secondary school competitions. Events organized by UIL include athletics as well as the arts and academic subjects such as mathematics.

From 1905–1915, people in Dallas and Fort Worth turned out by the thousands for horse racing, which was usually tied to the state fair schedule. Dallas established a Jockey Club early on. The Fort Worth Driving Club (for owners of Standardbred trotters and pacers) had 101 members when it opened in 1905. Trotters raced at a park in Fort Worth, but both cities attracted thousands of people for each style of racing.

Healthcare

The Commonwealth Fund ranks the Texas healthcare system the third worst in the nation. It also ranks Texas close to last in access to healthcare, quality of care, avoidable hospital spending, and equity among various groups. Causes of the state's poor rankings include: politics, a high poverty rate, and illegal immigration, Texas having the highest rate in the nation. In May 2006, Texas initiated the program "code red" in response to the report that the state had 25.1 percent of the population without health insurance, the largest proportion in the nation. Texas also has controversial non-economic damages capsmedical malpractice lawsuits set at $250,000, in an attempt to "curb rising malpractice premiums, and control escalating healthcare costs".

The Trust for America's Health ranked Texas 12th highest adult obesity rate, 24.6 percent, nationwide, and the 4th highest in the percentage of overweight high school students, 13.9 percent. The 2008 Men's Health obesity survey ranked four Texas cities among the top 25 fattest cities in America; Houston ranked 6th, Dallas 7th, El Paso 8th, and Arlington 14th. Austin was the only Texan city in the top 25 among the "fittest cities" in America and ranked 21st. The same survey has evaluated the state's obesity initiatives favorably with a "B+".

The Texas Medical Center, in Houston, is the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions, with 45 member institutions in the Texas Medical Center. More heart transplants are performed at Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world. San Antonio's South Texas Medical Center facilities rank sixth in clinical medicine research impact in the United States with the University of Texas Health Science Center being another highly ranked research and educational institution.

Education

The American Legislative Exchange Council ranked Texas 26 among the 50 states for education in 2007. Texas students ranked higher than average in mathematics, but lower in reading. Between 2005–2006, Texas spent $7,584 per pupil ranking it below the national average of $9,295. The pupil/teacher ratio was 15.0 slightly below average. Instructors were paid $38,130, below the national average. 10.8% of the educational funding in Texas came from the federal government, 89.22% from state funding.

The state's public school systems are administered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Texas has over 1,000school districts—all districts except the Stafford Municipal School District are independent from municipal government and many cross city boundaries. School districts have the power to tax their residents and to assert eminent domain over privately owned property. The "Robin Hood plan" is a controversial tax redistribution system that provides court-mandated equitable school financing for school districts. Property tax revenue from property-wealthy school districts is distributed to those in property-poor districts, in an effort to equalize the public school financing for children throughout Texas. The TEA has no authority over private school operations; private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Neither TEA nor the local school district has authority to regulate home school activities.